Philip Seymour Hoffman's Student Film

He just won an Oscar for Capote, but that doesn’t mean that Philip Seymour Hoffman is too big to play small roles.

Look for the star to appear onscreen next in Simply Leon, a film by Tim Farmer, a senior at Fairport (N.Y.) High School.

Last year Hoffman visited Fairport, his alma mater, and Farmer pitched a seven-second role in the short he was making for media class. "He gave me his all," Farmer, 18, tells PEOPLE. "He even said the F-word, which I didn't call for."

The director hopes to debut Leon in L.A. this summer. As for compensation, "I asked him if I had to pay," says Farmer. "He said, 'I don't think you have to pay me for using the F-word.'"